


Touch

by artem_ace



Category: In the Flesh (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-20 07:55:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3642579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artem_ace/pseuds/artem_ace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Quick oneshot written for grotesqe (on tumblr) for their Christmas bc they asked for some Siren. Loosely based off the song “Touch” by Daughter. Basically Kieren regains his sense of touch (like Amy)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Touch

Oddly enough, the first time it happens, he’s making out with Simon. It’s Thursday afternoon, and they’re on his parents’ couch, swapping spit. They do it often, more out of habit than anything, but this time something’s different.

He can feel it. Everything. Simon’s cold fingers cupping his jaw. Simons hair soft between his fingers. Simon’s bony knee digging into his thigh. Simon’s tongue which just so happens to be inside of his own mouth.

Kieren feels a shock, almost like someone’s zapped him after shuffling across a carpet for an hour. He pulls away immediately and touches his lips.

Why the hell is he feeling?

He’s dead. There isn’t any reason he should be feeling anything, but here he is. He’s short of breath and since when did he need to breathe?

Simon’s looking at him like he’s grown two heads, and maybe Kieren has. Feeling… Feeling is for the living.

"You alright?" Simon asks, enclosing Kieren’s hand in his cold one. He’s never realized exactly how cold Simon’s hand was until now, because well, he couldn’t exactly feel up until now.

Simon’s visibly worried, his eyes wide and his forehead wrinkling. Kieren feels guilty for not answering him, because Simon is still trying to get his attention, and he didn’t even know what his boyfriend must be thinking at the moment.

Kieren swallows. He remembers the feeling of Simon’s mouth on his own, and that’s all that he can think about as he pushes Simon onto his back and anchors his hands on either side of his head. “Fucking perfect,” he mutters and catches Simon’s lips with his own.

Simon lets out a surprised grunt, but asks no further questions. He warms up to the kiss, threading his fingers through Kieran’s hair and following his lead.

Kieren feels as if he’s on actual fire, but doesn’t dare stop, scared that if he does, he might never get this feeling again. He snogs Simon sloppily, barely reminding himself to take breaths, because, oh yeah, he has to fucking breathe now.

"Christ, do you guys have to do that here?!" Jem exclaims.

Somehow between Simon’s surprise of Kieran’s newfound obsession with his lips, and Kieren’s surprise at actually being able to feel Simon’s lips, neither of them heard the door open.

Kieren’s little, well, technically older now, sister stares at them with disgust. Kieren shrugs sheepishly.

"Sorry, Jem. Got carried away, I guess."

Jem just rolls her eyes and goes to her room. If either she or Simon noticed Kieren’s breathing, neither say anything.

~~~~~~~~~~

"So what just happened?" Simon asks. Kieren’s chest is still heaving. He hasn’t had to breathe in so long.

"Not sure," he replies. Simon raises an eyebrow. He stays silent, prodding for an explanation with his intense eyes.

"When we were, uh, you know, I- I felt it,” Kieren explains.

Simon’s raises both eyebrows now.

"You felt something?" He asks, interested.

Kieren licks his lips and sits up a little straighter. “Still am, actually.” The tips of his fingers run across the smooth texture of the sofa. It’s almost itchy in a way, but Kieren can’t get enough of it. He traces patterns on the cloth, basking in the feeling against his skin.

"Feeling?" Simon asks, leaning forward. Kieren swallows again. "Yeah." Feeling.

Kieren goes to lick his lips again and realizes that’s he’s thirsty. But… Can he drink now?

Simon takes his hand gently and presses his thumb into Kieren’s palm. There’s a pressure where his thumb is and Kieren smiles. “You can feel that?” Simon asks. Kieren nods. “Yeah. I can definitely feel that.”

Simon’s smiling too. He cups Kieren’s face and plants a gentle kiss to his nose. “That too?” Kieren’s grin widens and he nods. Simon laughs in disbelief.

"But- what does it mean?"

Kieren shrugs. “No idea. Do you think I can drink now, though? I swear my mouth is drier than the Sahara.”

"Let’s find out," Simon suggests.

~~~~~~~

It turns out he can have liquids. Solids too.

****  
  


They’re at a party that someone arranged between the “PDS sufferers” and members of the community who aren’t complete arseholes. Someone’s walking around offering people sheep brains, but neither he or Simon take any.

There’s music playing, something from an artist Kieren has never heard of, but it’s easy to dance to and he and Simon shuffle around along with the other teens on the dance floor.

Simon apparently knows the song and is singing along quietly. Kieren enjoys the scratchy feel of Simon’s sweater on his bare skin. He moves his chin from its resting place on Simon’s shoulder to look him in the eyes. Simon’s smile blinds him and Kieren swears his heart skips a beat.

Skips a beat. His heart.

When… When did it start beating?

Shit. All Kieren can think about now is the steady beat of his heart, his heart, and the pulse slowly increases and his breathing becomes shallower. What the hell is happening?

"Kieren?"

The song has stopped and he’s starting to get curious looks from others on the floor.

"My heart-" Kieren’s fingers are gripping into Simon’s biceps so hard they’d leave bruises, if Simon had blood to spare. "- it’s beating?"

Simon is the only thing keeping Kieren from falling now. “Are you sure?” He asks.

Well it may not be his heart, but something’s fucking pounding on his chest for sure. He nods. “Y-yeah.” Simon swears under his breath.

Simon’s gone into total disciple mode, still desperately searching for answers as to why Kieren’s suddenly regained his sense of touch. Kieren would rather Simon just shut up and kiss him, if he’s being honest, but he doesn’t say anything.

"C’mon." He tugs on Kieren’s hand and leads him off the dance floor. Kieren is gripping his hand like it’s the only thing keeping him afloat in a sea of drunk teenagers dancing to dubstep.

Kieren is stumbling behind Simon’s when he slams into something hard. “Shit, sorry!” Philip is apologizing and trying to clean up the drink he’s spilled by dabbing at Kieren’s shirt with the sleeve of his sweater.

"It’s fine." Simon says and continues to drag Kieren behind him.

"Wait, ‘Ren you okay?" Philip inquires.

Simon stops to let Kieren speak.

He whispers, “My heart’s beating.”

Philips face pales. “That- Amy, before she-“

Simon’s interest is piqued and he is no longer interested in dragging Kieren home.

Kieren’s ears are buzzing. This happened to Amy? Does that mean others will start to feel as well?

~~~~~~~

It’s not for six months until they get an answer. Heather, a young PDS sufferer, confesses to Simon her developing senses. After that, others come forward, and before long at least half of the undead living in Lancashire have beating hearts, or at least a sense of touch.

Not only in the town, reports of others gaining living symptoms are becoming more and more popular in the news. It’s a topic of interest for both the living and the dead.

Simon has completely devoted his time into studying everything he can find on this strange epidemic. To be honest, Kieren wishes Simon was less obsessed with the subject. To be fair, though, he would probably be more wrapped up in it had he not been able to feel.

Simon heart is still as still as the day he died. He hopes desperately to feel the raindrops on his skin again, the feeling of sand falling through his fingers, the warmth of a bonfire, but there’s nothing and he becomes more and more disappointed with each passing day.

Until one day, it happens.

It’s funny actually, that while Kieren’s first experience feeling during his second life is kissing Simon, the first thing Simon feels is pain.

He’s making eggs for Kieren, as a surprise for their anniversary, when he sets his palm on the stove and is burned immediately.

He shouts out a short string of profanity before rushing over to the sink to run cool water over his burning hand.

"Simon?!" He hears Kieren’s frantic call from the other room.

The water is flowing from the tap and onto his wound. Simon finds himself staring at the liquid as it falls. It hasn’t quite registered in his mind what’s happening. Kieren runs into the room.

"Hey, what happened?" Kieren asks, taking in the sight of his boyfriend holding his hand under the faucet.

“I burned myself on the stove.” Simon says. He burned himself on the stove. He burned himself on the stove.

They both reach the thought at the same time.

Simon can feel.

Simon licks his lips.

“You need a drink?” Kieren asks, reaching for a glass.

Simon shakes his head. He stops Kieren and pulls him closer to himself.  ”Kiss me.”

Kieren grins and bites his lower lip. “Yeah, okay.”

And Simon feels.

 

**Author's Note:**

> aye first and only in the flesh fanfic ^.^ reviews appreciated!! my tumblr is artem-ace.tumblr.com if anybody wants to check it out:3


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